[imagesource:chippewaflowage]

A lake in the US is home to a giant floating island that moves around, so every year local boat owners get together and push the island away.

Lake Chippewa is a man-made lake that was created in 1923 by flooding a large swamp. Soon after that, many of the peat bogs started rising to the surface and became perfect growing spots for plants, with seeds carried by wind and wild birds to this floating paradise.

Over the years these ‘bogs’ have grown plants and trees and turned into full islands. Some have grown to the size of a parking space while others are several hectares.

According to the Chippewa Flowage website, the lake’s unique floating islands start out as mud flats risen from the swamp at the bottom, but as time goes by, vegetation starts to grow, and the oldest islands even have trees that act as sails when the wind blows, moving the entire floating mass around the lake.

“It’s one of the first things you look for when you come in here in the morning: Where’s the bog?” local man Denny Reyes said.

The largest of them, called “Forty Acre Bog”, has however become a danger with its matured trees and large surface area, especially as its yearly drift pushes it towards a bridge connecting the East and West sides of the lake.

When that happens, the only way to move it is by boat. And not just one big boat, but dozens of them working together, with the wind at their back.

Last year, 25 boats were used to push the floating island away from the bridge.

“When we move it, we gotta get it kind of in the right spot, or it can be back in in a couple of days”, local homeowner Greg Kopke said.

Because floating islands like the Forty Acre Bog are a habitat for various animal species, they are protected by law and cannot be broken apart. So the locals are left with only one option. Push it!

It’s an eerie sight to see boats pushing an island:

You have to wonder though, can they not just anchor it? Asking as a landlubber.

[source:idditycentral]